Lamp shade and supporting spider



May 4, 1954 E. w. PRIESTER 2,677,756

LAMP SHADE AND SUPPORTING SPIDER Filed March 18, 1949 5 IN VEN TOR.

AT TO R NE YS Patented May 4, 1954 UNITED STATE$ ATENT OFFICE Edwin W. Priester, New York, N. Y., assignor to Empire Shades, Incorporated, a corporation of New York Application March 18, 1949, Serial No. 82,040

1 Claim.

This invention relates to lamp shades, and more particularly to the combination of a lamp shade of flexible material with a supporting spider that accommodates contraction and expansion of the shade without causing distortion thereof. The new lamp shade spider, which by itself as well as in combination with a lamp shade is a part of the invention, is characterized by the provision of a plurality of spokes configured at one end for engagement with the lamp shade and slidably received at the other end in tubular spoke sockets secured to a central hub. The free axial movement of the spokes in the socket permits the spider to accommodate a wide degree of expansion and contraction on the part of the lamp shade without distortion of the latter from its intended form; and further permits a central hub of one form to be substituted for a hub of different form for use on a different type of lamp.

Lamp shades of paper and textile materials are conventionally mounted on a frame which usual- 1y comprises a substantially rigid ring secured to the upper edge of the shade and joined by rigid spokes to a central hub by which the shade is supported on the lamp standard. Spiders of this character are satisfactory for use with paper and textil lamp shades because such shades are not subject to much expansion or contraction, and hence the rigid form of the spider is not objectionable. Plastic materials, however, have not heretofore found widespread lamp shade use, because many such materials that otherwise are suitable for making shades are subject to such a degree of expansion Or contraction that they cannot be securely and permanently attached to a rigid. metal supporting spider.

Th present invention provides a substantially improved lamp shade spider which may be readil attached to a lamp shade of plastic material and which easily accommodates a large degree of expansion or contraction, either such as occurs incident to fluctuations in the temperature and humidity of the surrounding atmosphere, or such contraction as often occurs in the first few days, weeks, or months after the manufacture of a plastic lamp shade. A lamp shade assembly according to the invention comprises a shade of flexible material (which advantageously is but need not necessarily be a plastic material) formed at its top with a peripheral tubular channel. The spider for supporting the shade comprises a hub to which are secured a plurality of substantially equally spaced tubular spoke sockets. The spoke sockets radiate laterally from the hub, all substantially in a common plane. A plurality of spokes are provided, each with its inner end portion removably inserted in one of the spoke sockets and slidable therein toward and away from the hub. The outer end portion of each spoke projects beyond the outer extremity of the spoke socket in which it is inserted, and is engaged in the peripheral channel of the lamp shade. Advantageously, the outer end portion of th spoke is bent substantially at a right angle to the axis of the spoke socket, in the common plane of such sockets, so as to engage securely in the peripheral channel of the shade. This channel is substantially free of any rigid structure save for the end portions of the spokes received therein, so that expansion and contraction of the shade is accommodated, without deformation thereof, by movement of the spokes axially in the spoke sockets.

A feature of appreciable merit of the new spider is that the spokes are easily and simply removable from the spoke sockets by being axially withdrawn therefrom. Consequently it is a simple matter to remove a hub of given form, with its attached spoke sockets, and to substitute a hub of different form but with corresponding attached spoke sockets. The advantage of this feature stems from the fact that several quite different forms of hubs are in use for lamp shade spiders. One form of hub has a small central hole for receiving a stud on the lamp standard. Another form of hub is provided with a rather large internally threaded opening for screwing onto the socket of a pendant lamp. Still another form in fairly common use has no central hole in the hub, but is instead provided with wire clips for engagement directly with the glass bulb of an electric lamp. With the rigid lamp shade frames and spiders heretofore in use, it is not feasible to substitute one form of hub for another, and consequently a lamp shade provided with one form of such spider can be used only on a lamp of the type designed for that particular form of spider. With the new spider, however, a hub of any particular form may readily be substituted for a hub of any other form, so that a rather costly lamp shade can be adapted for use on any type of lamp standard by substituting (if necessary) a rather inexpensive hub assembly for that originally supplied with the shade.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig, 1 is a perspective of a lamp shade assembly including a spider constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view taken in the direction indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The lamp shade assembly shown in Fig. 1 comprises a shade 5 of flexible material, e. g., a plastic composition, in the conventional form of a truncated cone. The upper edge of the shade is rolled inwardly to form a peripheral annular tubular channel 3. The rolled edge provides a neat-appearing upper termination for the shade, and the channel 6 formed thereby serves to receive the supporting spider.

The spider itself comprises a hub 1 from which a series of tubular spoke sockets 8 radiate. The spoke sockets preferably are made of small diameter round metal tubing, and are arranged in a common plane at substantially equally spaced angular intervals. They are secured to the hub by being inserted into drilled or otherwise formed radial holes 9 and by being locked therein by punch pricks 10. At least three equally spaced spoke sockets should be provided, and in the drawings a structure having four such sockets is shown, this number having been found to be optimum.

The inner end portion of a round wire or rod spoke H is inserted into each spoke socket. The diameter of the spoke should be equal to or very slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the spoke socket, so that it is free to move axially therein but is held thereby against lateral movement. For adequate mechanical strength, the spoke sockets should project a substantial distance outwardly from the hub, and the spokes should be inserted therein for a substantial distance (say one-fourth to one half the radius of the shade at its top). The spokes are formed with an upwardly bent portion [2 near the point where they engage with the lamp shade (so that the spider will lie in a plane below the top of the shade) and their end portions 13 are then bent substantially at right angles to the axis of the tubular spoke sockets substantially in the com mon plane of the latter (or, more strictly speaking, in a plane parallel to such common plane and located thereabove by a distance substantially equal to the vertical height of the upward" ly bent portions 12). The laterally bent end portions 13 of the spokes are inserted through holes Id formed in the inner surface of the rolled upper edge of the shade, and are received within the annular channel 6.

The spider of the invention provides a secure support for the lamp shade, and at the same time permits a large degree of expansion and contraction of the shade without imposing any distorting force thereon. Expansion and contraction which causes a change in the diameter of the upper periphery of the shade is accommodated by axial movement of the spokes in the spoke sockets. The fact that the annular channel 6 at the upper periphery of the shade is free of any rigid structure save for the laterally bent end. portions I3 of the spokes enables the shade to undergo expansion and contraction without deformation or any tendency for it to pull loose from the spokes. Regardless of such expansion or contraction, the hub is always held centered in the upper periphery of the shade by the resiliency of the spokes and their resistance to lateral movement.

The spider shown in the drawings is of the form having a small central hole l5 for receiving an upwardly projecting stud mounted on a lamp standard. The hub may equally well be of the form provided with a relatively large internally threaded hole for attachment to a pendant lamp socket, or of the form having spring clips for direct engagement with the bulb of an electric lamp, or of any other form. Whatever form of central hub is original provided with the shade, it is a comparatively simple matter to withdraw the spokes from the spoke sockets and to replace the hub with one of another form having corresponding spoke sockets. If the shade itself is sufiiciently flexible, withdrawal of the spokes from the spoke sockets may be accomplished without removing the spokes themselves from the shade. If the shade is not suiiiciently flexible to permit the necessary degree of distortion for this operation, the spokes may be detached from the shade by slipping the laterally bent end portions l3 from the annular channel 6, after which they are easily withdrawn from the spoke sockets for the purpose of substituting the different hub assembly.

Although the new lamp spider is of particular utility in combination with lamp shades made of plastic material that is flexible but sufiiciently strong to be self-supporting, the spider itself may be used in combination with shades made of some other material. If expansion and contraction of the shade is not of major consequence. as in the case of shades of textile materials, but where a supporting frame is necessary, the outer end portions of the spokes may be secured (permanently or detachably) to a springy ring comprising the frame on which the shade is supported, and the advantage of being able to remove and replace the hub assembly is thereby retained.

I claim:

A lamp shade assembly comprising a shade of flexible plastic material formed at its top with a peripheral tubular channel, and a spider for supporting said shade comprising a hub, a plurality of substantially equally spaced tubular spoke sockets secured to said hub and projecting laterally therefrom substantially in a common plane, and a plurality of spokes each having its inner end portion removably inserted in one of the spoke sockets and slidable therein toward and away from the hub, the outer end portion of each spoke extending at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the spoke and being inserted into the peripheral channel of the shade, and said channel being free of any structure save for the end portions of the spokes received therein, whereby expansion and contraction or" the lamp shade is accommodated without deformation thereof by movement of the spokes in the spoke sockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 953,950 Hoag Apr. 5, 1910 1,469,539 Silberhartz et al. Oct. 2, 1923 1,784,08 Sherbinin Dec. 9, 1930 1,989,384 Sher Jan. 29, 1935 2,392,324 Krebeck Jan. 8, 1946 2,475,405 Rousselle July 5, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 472,902 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1937 672,130 France Dec. 23, 1929 935,574 France June 23, 1948' 

